Jootaek (Juice) Lee is a senior law librarian (the Research
Librarian for Foreign, Comparative & International Law) at the Northeastern
University School of Law. He received a B.A. from Korea
University where he also received an LL.M. in international law. Jootaek
completed his J.D. at Florida State University, where he was also awarded
M.L.S. He has published articles relating to legal informatics and
legal pedagogy in a law review, International Journal of Legal Information,
SSRN, and a Globalex research guide and bibliography for Korean legal resources
in English, as well as presented at national conferences several times. Additionally,
he actively participates in the American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and
the American Society of International Law (ASIL). Currently, he is the
president-elect of Asian American Law Librarians Caucus and the Co-Chair of
International Legal Research Interest Group of ASIL.

Neel
Kant Agrawal is a student in the law librarianship program at the
University of Washington Information School. He is a graduate of Michigan
State University (B.A. & J.D.) in East Lansing, MI. Neel’s research interests
are in the areas of civil and human rights and ethnomusicology.

I. Introduction

This guide is designed primarily for non-U.S. legal
researchers. It describes several providers of legal research databases,
focusing on fee-based sources, both high-cost and low-cost. For an excellent
guide to free sources of federal legal materials, see the GlobaLex guide
authored by Gretchen Feltes, Update: A Guide to the U. S. Federal Legal System:
Web-based Public Accessible Sources, October 2010.

CAUTION: Because database providers frequently change
their coverage and functionality, researchers should make sure that a provider
still offers the desired sources before signing a contract or otherwise
incurring any fees.

II. Commercial versus Free Sources

Much of
the information available on commercial legal databases is also available from
free internet sources. However, commercial database providers (LexisNexis and
Westlaw in particular), offer a large amount of information that is not
available for free. This includes older state and federal cases, legal forms,
court dockets, public records, certain state and federal administrative
materials, and secondary sources such as online versions of treatises, journal
articles, and legal newspapers. Also, commercial databases often contain a
great deal of valuable staff-added information. For example, LexisNexis and
Westlaw have databases that contain the U.S. Code (federal statutory laws). The
U.S. Code
is also available online, for free. But unlike the free internet version of
the U.S. Code, the LexisNexis and Westlaw “annotated codes” cite to additional
information such as relevant cases, legal encyclopedias, law journal articles,
federal regulations, and more.

In
addition to providing more information, commercial databases are often more
searchable than free databases. First, they offer much more sophisticated
search engines. For example, Westlaw and LexisNexis support the following useful
tools:

Boolean
connectors (and, or, not)

grammatical
connectors (e.g., [taxation /s “foreign investment”] retrieves documents
in which the words “taxation” and “foreign investment” appear in the same
sentence)

field
or segment restrictions that allow searching in narrow sections (segments
or fields) of a document (e.g., author or judge, case title, statute
caption, etc.)

“natural language” searching option which is more
like Semantic Web searching (e.g., [what is the statute of limitations for
tax evasion] retrieves documents answering the question in order of
relevance to that search)

Providers
of low-cost databases – often considered to be research alternatives to
Westlaw and Lexis – such as Loislaw, Versuslaw, Fastcase, Casemaker, etc.,
also provide sophisticated searching options.

Secondly,
commercial databases often contain staff-added enhancements to search results: a
function to search again within search results; a function to filter search
results by various types of sources, subjects, time, and jurisdiction; better
integrated search results in a document containing hyperlinks to related sources
including history, briefs, forms, jury instruction, legal encyclopedia,
treatise, journal articles, etc.; and a function to save research to allow
users to revisit the search results. For example, in the text of a court case,
many vendors add hyperlinks to any cases cited within the case. A researcher
can use these links to look quickly at any case the court mentions in its
decision. Commercial providers of U.S. court cases also provide built-in ways
for a researcher to check the current validity of a case, in addition to the
list of cases citing to the case.

In a
common law system, checking the validity of a case is an important step in
legal research. The researcher must find out whether the case is still “good
law,” or whether a later court decision has changed the law. If a case is not
too old, it is possible to check a case’s validity using free databases of
court cases. The researcher enters the case name as a search term, and reviews
any cases that contain the name. However, this process is cumbersome and
vulnerable to errors, so most U.S. researchers prefer to use online
“citators.” Westlaw’s online citator is called KeyCite; LexisNexis offers Shepard’s
; Loislaw offers GlobalCite ; FastCase offers AuthorityCheck
; Casemaker offers CaseCheck+ ; and Bloomberg Law provides
the Bloomberg Citator (BCiting or BCIT).

Additionally,
commercial databases are sometimes more current than free databases. This
difference is most apparent in databases consisting of statutes and regulations.
Commercial database providers usually incorporate new statutory language, or at
least provide links to it from the old statute section, much faster than
government websites. Researchers who rely upon free websites must be
particularly careful to check for new laws and regulations, which are often
located on a different webpage from the older ones.

Moreover,
commercial databases usually offer superior technical support to free
databases. Some legal database providers, such as Westlaw and LexisNexis, have
24/7 telephone support. Subscribers can receive free help in choosing a
database, constructing a search, and overcoming technical problems. Finally,
while government information on the internet is usually reliable, internet
information from other sources may not be. Unlike most websites, many
commercial databases consist of material that has been published in print, and
thus has gone through the screening imposed by editors and publishers. This
makes commercial databases more reliable than some free internet information. Of
course, all of these advantages come at a price. Commercial legal databases
can be very expensive. Free sources may work better for researchers who have
more time than money to spend.

Among
commercial providers, Westlaw and LexisNexis are the largest, the most
sophisticated (in searching and other features), and the most expensive. Loislaw,
Bloomberg Law, Fastcase, Casemaker, and VersusLaw are considered to be low-cost
databases. Specifically, Casemaker and Fastcase are free to state bar members
in many states. On the hand, Bloomberg BNA, CCH IntelliConnect, HeinOnline, and
Thomson Reuters RIA provide expensive, sophisticated, and specialized products
for practitioners in areas such as labor law, environmental law, securities,
and taxation. Although they have not been introduced in this article, other
important fee-based databases are PACER, CourtLink, Courthouse News Service, Law360,
and CourtExpress for court docket and case information service, Securities
Mosaic and Morningstar Document Research (Wizard 10K) for securities, and LexisNexis
Accurint for public records.

Like Westlaw (see below), LexisNexis offers a full range
of U.S. legal information, including materials from all 50 states. In the
U.S., primary authority consists of the constitution, statutes, administrative
regulations, and cases. LexisNexis gives the researcher access to all of these
sources. In addition, LexisNexis has large databases of secondary sources ­–
commentary on law contained in legal treatises, law journal articles, legal
encyclopedias, and legal digests. Although commentaries are not primary sources
of law in the U.S. legal system, consulting these secondary sources is often an
efficient and effective approach to research. Secondary sources usually
explain the law more clearly than statutes and cases, while providing
references to the applicable primary sources. Examples of secondary materials,
to name a few, include: encyclopedias, such as American Jurisprudence 2d,
California Jurisprudence 3d, New York Jurisprudence 2d, Illinois Jurisprudence,
Florida Jurisprudence, etc.; American Law Reports (ALR); Restatements of
general principles of common law; continuing legal education (CLE) materials
for practicing bar members; and U.S. law review and journal articles.

LexisNexis offers thousands of individual databases. Some
databases combine the contents of several databases. For example, researchers
can choose a database of New York court decisions, or search all state court
cases at once. Usually, it is cheapest and most efficient to search the
smallest database that contains all of the information needed.

In its databases of cases, LexisNexis generally offers
complete coverage back to the earliest case. For example, the U.S. Supreme
Court cases date back to January 1790, and cases from the U.S. Courts of Appeals
and the U.S. District Courts go back to 1789. Its statutes databases offer
current, frequently updated laws, and offer both codified statutes like United
States Code Service arranged by 51 subject titles and uncodified public laws published
chronologically. Because researchers sometimes need earlier versions of
statutes, LexisNexis also has “archived” versions of statute databases, most of
which extend back to 1991. LexisNexis offers a free, searchable
list of its databases.

Currency and Updating Tools

Primary authorities such as statutes, cases,
administrative regulations and decisions are current and updated regularly.
For example, the most recent public laws are available within 24 to 48 hours
after a law is passed, U.S. Code Service is updated several times per month, Federal
Register is updated daily, and Code of Federal Regulations is updated weekly.

Researchers also monitor new cases, new statutes, news,
and more, using LexisNexis Alerts. After retrieving satisfactory search
results and clicking on “Save as Alert,” researchers can receive email updates
on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis. LexisNexis offers Shepard's Citations
Service in order to enable researchers to determine whether they are employing “good
law.” Furthermore, Shepard's Alert allows subscribes to receive regular
updates on citing authorities that could potentially affect the validity of a
law. Lastly, LexisNexis provides legal news databases. Researchers can search
by practice area, jurisdiction, and publisher, such as BNA, Mealey's, Tax
Analysts, American Lawyer Media, Dolan Media Company, etc.

How its Databases are Organized

LexisNexis organizes its databases in a hierarchical
structure. Major headings include:

Within a category, such as Cases, the researcher can
choose from several databases. For California, LexisNexis offers a database of
cases from the California Supreme Court, a database of cases from the
California Courts of Appeals, a database that combines these two, and a
database that combines them with federal cases relating to California – these
federal cases are those from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and
lower federal courts within that circuit.

Basically, Researchers should choose an appropriate database(s)
by the "Find a Source" function or by browsing by jurisdiction, types
of documents, or topic. Then, they can search by terms after selecting search
type among Terms & Connectors, Natural Language, or Easy Search. If Researchers
have a citation(s), a party name(s), or docket number(s), they can retrieve by
the "Get a Document" function.

Presentation

The design of LexisNexis has become much simpler since its
change in November 2010, but is still complex since users have to browse the
contents instead of using a search box in the beginning. Once you log in to
LexisNexis, unlike the recently launched Lexis Advance platform, the traditional
LexisNexis does not provide a search box upfront. Researchers either have to
choose what type of search they will begin with from the navigation bars on the
top-left hand side, or from the main middle page, browse by jurisdiction, type
of documents, and topic to find an appropriate database by clicking several
times. Sub-tabs under the navigation bar allow users quickly access to the
databases by a topical tab.

In the U.S., LexisNexis launched the new Lexis Advance
platform in May 2012. This new platform is much more usable and intuitive than
Lexis, and allows users to do Google-like search and find the relevant answers
by their unique content classification technology. Lexis Advance is not yet
available in foreign markets.

Pricing

LexisNexis offers a bewildering variety of subscription
plans. Some plans are based on hourly usage and database cost. Others are
based on the number of searches conducted (“transactional” pricing), and others
are based on a discounted rate for specified databases. The cost of databases
differs considerably, depending on factors such as the size of the database and
whether the underlying data comes from another vendor. Additional charges for
printing, downloading, or emailing documents may apply.

LexisNexis
does not offer free trials. But, LexisNexis offers 10 years of free unenhanced
federal and state case law as well as a wide variety of legal and business
online communities at this website.

Technical
Information

LexisNexis recommends technical specifications that can be
found here. LexisNexis offers toll-free technical help for non-U.S.
customers, regardless of location.

Westlaw is an online service containing more than 10,000
legal, financial, and news databases and is owned by the Thomson
Reuters Corporation. It is one of the two largest providers of U.S.
legal information.

What Westlaw Offers

Like LexisNexis (see above), Westlaw offers a full range
of U.S. legal information, including materials from all 50 states. In the
U.S., primary authority consists of the federal and state Constitutions,
statutes, administrative regulations, and cases. Westlaw gives the researcher
access to all of these sources. In addition, Westlaw has large databases of
secondary sources – commentary on the law in legal treatises, law journal
articles, and legal encyclopedias. While commentary is not a source of law in
the U.S. legal system, it is often an efficient way to research. Secondary
sources usually explain the law more clearly than statutes and cases, while
including references to the applicable primary sources. "Secondary
Sources" include: encyclopedias – American Jurisprudence 2d,
American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts, Causes of Action, Corpus Juris Secundum,
California Jurisprudence 3d, New York Jurisprudence 2d, Illinois Jurisprudence,
Florida Jurisprudence, etc.; Black's Law Dictionary; American Law Reports
(ALR); Restatements for case oriented areas of law; continuing legal education
(CLE) materials for practicing bar members; Uniform Laws Annotated; U.S. law
reviews and journal articles.

Westlaw offers thousands of individual databases. Some
databases combine the contents of several databases. For example, researchers
can choose a database of New York court decisions. But they can also search
all cases from all 50 states at once. Usually, it is best to search the
smallest database that contains all the information you need.

For its databases of cases, Westlaw generally offers
complete coverage back to the earliest case. For example, the U.S. Supreme
Court cases date back to 1790, and cases from the U.S. Courts of Appeal and the
U.S. District Courts go back to 1789. Its statute databases offer current, frequently
updated laws and offer both codified statutes like U.S. Code Annotated arranged
by 51 subject titles and uncodified public laws published chronologically.
Because researchers sometimes need earlier versions of statutes, Westlaw also
has “archived” versions of statute databases. United States Public Laws dates
back to 1973. Most of state statutes extend back to the late 1980s or early
1990s. Westlaw provides database information here, although it is not in an easily
used format.

CAUTION: Westlaw makes only selected databases available
under its standard international subscriptions. One primary part of its
international subscription is a searchable database of West “headnotes” for
U.S. federal and state case law. These “headnotes” are Westlaw’s proprietary
summaries of various points of law discussed in a case. So, for example, one
case might contain several different headnotes. Westlaw provides the full text
of cases and of statutes in a handful of topical areas: banking, bankruptcy
(insolvency), commercial law, intellectual property, securities, and
insurance. The collection also includes law reviews, practice texts, and
treatises in those topical areas. The databases are described here. Researchers can subscribe to one
or more topic areas.

Currency and Updating Tools

Primary authorities such as statutes, cases,
administrative regulations and decisions are current and updated fast. For
example, the most recent public laws are available within 24 to 48 hours after
a law is passed, U.S. Code Annotated reflects the current changes enacted by
public laws from the current Congress session, Federal Register is updated
daily, Code of Federal Regulations reflects changes made by Federal Register
within a week, and U.S. Supreme Court cases are available online prior to West
Advance sheets without editorial enhancement. Researchers also monitor new
cases, new statutes, new regulations, standards, news, and more legal
developments, using WestClip. After obtaining satisfactory search results and
clicking on "Add Search to WestClip," researchers can receive email
updates on a monthly, biweekly, weekly, or daily basis.

Westlaw’s KeyCite allows researchers to determine whether
they are employing “good law.” Furthermore, KeyCite Alert allows subscribes to
receive regular updates on citing authorities that could potentially affect the
validity of a law. Coverage varies by country. In the U.S., KeyCite is
available for case law, statutes, regulations, administrative materials,
patents, and secondary sources. For Hong Kong law, its coverage is limited to
only case law, while for Canadian law; it covers case law and legislation.

Within a category, such as Cases, the researcher can
choose from several databases. For California state cases, for example, Westlaw
offers California Reported Cases, West's California State Cases, California
State & Federal Cases, California and California Appellate Cases,
California Civil Rights Cases, etc. By clicking on the "Scope"
button next to the database name, a researcher can determine the scope of
coverage of each database.

While the categories and database names on Westlaw differ
from those on LexisNexis, both providers offer mostly similar coverage of
primary sources. The two providers vary more in the secondary sources they
offer. For example, they often have different treatises on similar topics.

Searchability

Overall, searching in Westlaw is not intuitive for
beginners. Thus, it is highly recommended that researchers complete Westlaw
Training, available at here .

Basically, researchers should choose an appropriate
database(s) by the "Search for a database" function or by browsing by
jurisdiction, types of documents, or topical practice areas. Then, they can
search by terms after selecting the search type of "Terms &
Connectors" or "Natural Language." By default, search results
are arranged in reverse chronological order and cannot be further narrowed.
However, researchers can search again within the search results by utilizing the
"Locate in results" function free of charge. If researchers have a
citation(s), a party name(s), or docket number(s), they can retrieve a document
by the "Find by citation" function.

Presentation

The design of Westlaw is more user-friendly than LexisNexis,
but is still complex and confusing since users are provided with many
navigation bars, tabs, search boxes, and options. Even if a researcher knows to
choose a proper tab, choose a database, and type in search terms; once logging
on to Westlaw, she/he may have a steep learning curve.

In the U.S., Westlaw launched the new WestlawNext platform
in 2010. This new platform is much more usable and intuitive than Westlaw, and
allows users to perform Google-like searches. Westlaw provides one simple
search box, where researchers can choose a scope and simply click the search
button. Then, users can further narrow their search results according to
relevance. WestlawNext is not yet available in foreign markets.

Pricing

International subscribers can choose from a relatively
small number of databases, via Westlaw International. Access to Westlaw databases that are outside
of a subscriber’s Westlaw International subscription is available on a
transactional charge basis. In other words, the researcher is charged for each
search or other transaction.

Westlaw offers a bewildering variety of subscription
plans. Some plans are based on hourly usage and database cost, while others
are based on a discounted rate for specified databases. Smaller law offices
often pay a flat monthly rate for a few specified databases. The cost of
databases differs considerably, depending on factors such as the size of the
database and whether the underlying data comes from another vendor. Additional
charges for printing, downloading, or emailing documents may apply.

Only U.S.-based organizations can subscribe directly to the
U.S. version of Westlaw. That is, a foreign law office can subscribe to the U.S.
version of Westlaw through its U.S. office, if it has one. If not, it must
work through Westlaw International.

Technical Information

Westlaw’s technical specifications can be found here. For international accounts,
Westlaw customer support telephone numbers are available here.

Fastcase is an independent company located in Washington,
D.C. Fastcase is a “next-generation legal research service that puts a
comprehensive national law library and smarter and more powerful searching,
sorting, and visualization tools at your fingertips.” Its target market is
U.S. law firms, solo practitioners, and state bar associations that provide
access to their members.

What Fastcase Offers

Fastcase offers online access to cases, statutes,
regulations, court rules, and bar publications. The National Appellate plan includes
comprehensive 50-state and federal law, federal and 50-state appellate law,
nationwide statutes and regulations, search results with the timeline view,
authority check, and dual-column and batch printing. The National Premium plan
includes everything in the National Appellate plan plus case law from federal
district courts and federal bankruptcy courts. The Fastcase Premium Plan
includes the complete national research database, including cases from 1 U.S. 1
to present, 1 F.2d to present, 1 F.Supp. 1 to present, 1 B.R. 1 to present, and
cases from all 50 states going back at least to 1950. The free 24-hour trial
has the same coverage as the National Premium plan. With either plan, FastCase
offers the framed versions of state and federal statutes and regulations.

Fastcase offers complete U.S. Supreme Court Reports;
federal bankruptcy cases from 1979; federal courts of appeals decisions from
1924 or the inception of the court, whichever is more recent; and federal
district court cases from 1912. Coverage of state appellate cases starts in
1950 or earlier for all U.S. states. Fastcase also provides access to a
newspaper archive, legal forms, and a one-stop PACER search of federal filings
through their content partners.

To check whether a case is “good law,” and to find
subsequent cases, Fastcase offers an “Authority Check” feature. This feature
displays a list of citing cases, as well as the text in which the citation
occurs. For its databases of court cases, Fastcase offers sophisticated search
capabilities. It supports Boolean connectors, including proximity connectors.
It also supports natural language searching, phrase searching, date
restrictions, and truncation (“stemming”). Fastcase gives the user several
options for displaying the list of cases retrieved, including relevance ranking
and reverse chronological order. Results can be narrowed by jurisdiction or
date range.

Fastcase offers a free 24-hour trial, a flat rate pricing
for the National Appellate plan ($65/month, $695/year), and the National
Premium plan ($95/month, $995/year). Fastcase gives potential subscribers
clear information about its subscription costs. Details are available here.

Technical Information

Fastcase works on most major browsers, including Internet
Explorer 6.0 or greater, Netscape version 7.2 or greater, and Firefox 1.1 or
greater on PCs. Fastcase is also compatible with the most recent Mac versions
of Firefox, Safari, and Netscape. Customer support is available via telephone,
email, and live chat.

Loislaw is owned by Wolters Kluwer. Its primary target
market is U.S. law firms with 50 or fewer attorneys.

What LoislawConnect Offers

LoislawConnect offers online access to current and
comprehensive federal and all 50 state databases. Every subscription includes
cases, statutes and acts, administrative rules and regulations, court rules,
and other primary law. These databases are updated within 24-48 hours of
changes. LoislawConnect also offers more than 20 treatise libraries by Aspen
authors.

LoislawConnect contains complete U.S. Supreme Court
Reports, and federal courts of appeals decisions from 1924 or the inception of
the court, whichever is more recent. Coverage of selected federal district
court opinions back to 1921 is available. Coverage of state appellate cases
varies, and LoislawConnect does not make this information easy to find. You
must request information about a specific state. Unlike the U.S. Code versions
on LexisNexis and Westlaw, LoislawConnect’s U.S. Code does not directly
incorporate references to related cases, regulations, or secondary sources such
as law reviews or legal encyclopedias. LoislawConnect’s treatises and
formbooks represent an excellent collection of specialized practice materials
on a wide variety of topics, including securities, antitrust (competition law),
business organizations, bankruptcy, real estate, and many others. LoislawConnect
also offers public records, court rules, and federal and state regulations.

GlobalCite, Loislaw’s citator, aids in finding “good” case
law. It expands a search to include all of Loislaw’s content regardless if it
is a user’s subscription. Specifically, by clicking on the GlobalCite button
at the bottom of each code section, researchers can retrieve all other
documents on LoislawConnect that reference the section. GlobalCite function
can be used on cases, regulations, and state statutes. Like the U.S. Code
versions on Westlaw, LexisNexis, and VersusLaw, the LoislawConnect version is
very up-to-date. Additionally, Law Watch allows users to save searches and
receive email notifications when a new document is indexes.

Loislaw supports Boolean connectors, including proximity
connectors. It also supports phrase searching, date restrictions, and
truncation (“stemming”). It does not offer the grammatical connectors offered
by Westlaw and Lexis. Loislaw gives the user several options for displaying
the list of cases retrieved, including relevance ranking and reverse
chronological order. Finally, researchers can choose from a variety of
printing, saving, and emailing options.

How its Databases are Organized

LoislawConnect arranges its databases by “Primary Law” (case
law, statutes and acts, administrative rules and regulations, court rules,
federal law, and state law); “Secondary Law” (treatise libraries and bar
publications); and “Smart Rules.”. Its limited number of databases, relative
to Westlaw and LexisNexis, make finding the right database simple.

Pricing

Loislaw’s pricing model is to sell unlimited access to a
database or package of databases. The subscriber pays a flat rate for each password.
A password may be shared by any number of users, but can be used by only one
person at a time. Loislaw does not have separate charges for printing, copying,
or downloading documents. Costs are listed herefor subscriptions for
48-hours, a week, a month or a year. Options to purchase access for multiple
subscribers are available, but the cost information is not easily available.
There is no free trial.

Technical Information

LoislawConnect’s technical specifications can be found here. Loislaw provides telephone and
email support to customers. There is also a built-in “Help” command to find
answers from a recorded video and/or user manual.

VersusLaw
was founded in 1985 as Timeline Publishing Company. VersusLaw’s mission is to
provide legal practitioners with access to current, in-depth, and easy-to-use legal
research. VersusLaw offers low-cost competition to Westlaw and LexisNexis.
VersusLaw offers access to core U.S. court decisions, federal and state
statutes, and administrative codes and regulations at much lower monthly and
annual subscription prices than LexisNexis and Westlaw. VersusLaw’s target
market is law students, academic law libraries, small firms, solo
practitioners, and non-lawyers.

What VersusLaw Offers

VersusLaw offers three types of subscriptions. The Standard
Plan provides access to opinions from the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Circuit
Courts of Appeals, U.S. District Courts, state appellate courts, tribal courts,
and foreign courts. It also includes access to AdvanceLinks, a system that
sends weekly emails with updates on various topics. U.S. Supreme Court
coverage extends back to 1886. Its coverage of federal circuit court cases
extends back to 1930 or to the creation of the court, whichever is later. Coverage
of state appellate cases varies, but for most states, it begins in the 1930s or
1950s.

VersusLaw’s Premium Plan provides access to federal,
appellate, tribal court, and foreign court case law opinions, federal district
court opinions dating back to 1950, as well as selected state statutes and
regulations. It also provides increased search engine functionality including
a citation search feature, and access to AdvanceLinks. VersusLaw is believed
to be the first national database dedicated to tribal court opinions. In 2000,
Versus Law entered into a cooperative agreement with the National American
Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA).

The Professional Plan provides access to all the materials
in the Standard and Premium Plans, as well as to federal statutes (U.S. Code) and
administrative regulations for the federal government (the “Code of Federal
Regulations,” or C.F.R.). In addition, it provides access to certain federal
administrative materials in its “Specialty Practice Collections.” These
include opinions from the Board of Immigration Appeals, the Court of Federal
Claims, the Court of International Trade, the Federal Mine Safety and Health
Review Commission (FMSHRC), Internal Revenue Service Revenue Rulings, the
National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Occupational Safety and Health
Review Commission (OSHRC), U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, U.S.
Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, and the U.S. Tax Court.

Unlike the U.S. Code versions on LexisNexis and Westlaw,
VersusLaw’s U.S. Code does not provide references to related cases, regulations,
or secondary sources such as law reviews or legal encyclopedias. However, it
is very up-to-date. Additionally, V.Cite, available to Premium and
Professional Plan subscribers, allows users to determine the validity of cited
cases, and identify other cases examining similar issues. By entering the
citation in the V.Cite form on the Search Query page, users can determine the
validity of the cited case, as well as review opinions examining certain legal issues.

How its Databases are Organized

VersusLaw contains the following libraries: U.S. Supreme
Court, Federal Circuit Courts, Federal District Courts, Other Federal Courts,
U.S. Code and Code of Federal Regulations, State Appellate Courts, Other court
Content, Native American Tribal Courts, and Foreign Courts. The library
selections appear on the left side of the screen after the researcher signs in.
Once a user selects a library, the user can search within the library, as well
as restrict search dates.

Pricing

Among the vendors, VersusLaw offers the most
straightforward pricing options.. The Standard Plan is $13.95/month, the
Premium Plan is $24.95/month, and the Professional Plan is $39,95/month. Its
pricing information is found here. Researchers can subscribe by the month or year.
Shorter, 24-hour access is also available, but only to VersusLaw’s cases
(Standard Plan). A subscription provides unlimited searching and printing.

Technical Information

VersusLaw’s site is best viewed using MS Internet Explorer
6.0 or Netscape 7.0. For overseas customers, email help is available.
Telephone help is available 9 hours each day, but is not toll-free for overseas
customers. Customer Service agents are available to assist users through the
Live Chat function as well as through email.

HeinOnline is owned by William S. Hein & Co., Inc.
(“Hein”). Hein’s primary market for HeinOnline is U.S. law school libraries
and large law firms. HeinOnline has subscribers in over 150 countries.

What HeinOnline Offers

HeinOnline, a product of William S. Hein & Co., Inc.,
includes over 70 million pages of legal history available in an online, fully
searchable, image-based format. It provides comprehensive coverage from
inception of more than 1,600 law and law-related periodicals. HeinOnline
provides PDF images of documents as they appear in print, ensuring authenticity
of the original copy.

HeinOnline offers a variety of materials. For the most
part, it does not have core legal research resources (statutes and cases) like
those offered by the other vendors in this guide. HeinOnline’s main components
are U.S. Supreme Court opinions from the beginning of the Court; a large
collection of U.S. law journals, with coverage back to the earliest volume; a
“Treaties and Agreements” library including the Treaties and International Acts
Series, and U.S. Treaties and Other International Acts; and the Federal
Register. Further descriptions of its collection are available here.

HeinOnline has been successful in part because it provides
high-quality image-based PDF replicas of original documents. Also, most of its
Federal Register and law journals collection is not available electronically
from other vendors. Although HeinOnline is popular in academic law libraries,
researchers use it primarily to retrieve known documents. Its full-text search
capabilities are much less powerful than those of Westlaw, Lexis, or other
commercial database providers. Users can search by phrase, and can use the
Boolean “and” connector (by selecting the “all words” option). HeinOnline
offers a very limited Boolean “or” connector option (by selecting “any words”),
which cannot be combined with other terms. But users cannot create proximity
searches, grammatical connector searches, or natural language searches. They
can, however, restrict searches by date.

The Librarian’s Corner of HeinOnline offers
various materials for libraries to market the products: logos, brand identity
guidelines, posters, graphic banners for webpages, the law journal library
citation widget, new library press release announcements, as well as a
description of HeinOnline and its libraries. Moreover, the American
Association of Law Libraries (“AALL”) makes its entire archive available to its
members through HeinOnline.

How its Databases are Organized

HeinOnline is divided into various “Collections”
(sometimes referred to as “Libraries”). Users access collections within their
respective institution’s subscription. These include, amongst others: Law
Journal Library; Intellectual Property Library; HeinOnline PoliSci; Foreign and
International Law Resources Database (FILRD); English Reports 1220-1865 (full
reprint); Digital Session Laws; New York Court of Appeals Records and Briefs;
European Center for Minority Issues (ECMI); International Law Association
Reports (ILA); U.S. Code of Federal Regulations; Federal Register; Legal
Classics Library; Philip C. Jessup Library; World Trials Collection; Treaties
and Agreements Library; U.S. Supreme Court Library; U.S. Federal Legislative
History Library; U.S. Attorney General Opinions Library; U.S. Statutes at Large
Library; and U.S. Presidential Library. The scope notes in the index provide
useful summaries of the content of each library. In each scope note, a list of
titles can be downloaded in CSV and KBART formats.

Pricing

Hein’s pricing model is to sell unlimited access to a
“Collection” or package of Collections (“library modules”). Hein offers
differing subscription prices based on the size and nature of the subscribing
institution and whether the institution subscribes to the entire collection or
to one or more of its library modules. License agreements also vary depending
on the type of institution. Hein offers a core subscription package and
a-la-carte subscription options. Subscriptions are annual. Trial access to a
sample of the HeinOnline collection is available at Hein’s discretion; see here.

Technical information

HeinOnline recommends that users have a dedicated internet
connection. For PDF printing, HeinOnline recommends Adobe Acrobat Reader,
version 6.0 or later. More system requirements and recommendations are listed here. HeinOnline provides technical
support by email. A toll-free technical assistance number is available for
U.S. customers.

IV. Specialized Vendors

Bloomberg BNA is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bloomberg.
It is a leading source of legal, regulatory, and business information. Bloomberg
BNA comprises a network of more than 2,500 reporters, correspondents, and
leading practitioners in order to deliver expert analysis, news, practice
tools, and guidance within a wide range of practice areas. Its market includes
law firms, law schools, businesses, and governments.

BNA’s databases are arranged alphabetically by subject
matter. Internally, each product is organized differently. The daily, weekly,
and monthly reports are organized like newsletters, allowing search by keyword,
or browsing topically through the index. The most comprehensive way to search
is by clicking on “Search My BNA” on the left side of the homepage. There, you
can search across databases by using a variety of search operators, limit the
date range, and choose which publications to search.

Most BNA databases are based on its loose-leaf
publications. The arrangement of its databases depends on the type of publication.
Generally, databases combine a subject arrangement with frequently released
updates. For smaller products, such as the Criminal Law Reporter, the default
search is across the entire contents of the database. For larger, more complex
products, such as the Labor and Employment Law Library, the researcher selects
from a variety of database divisions before searching. Using BNA’s larger
products usually requires training.

Pricing

BNA does not make pricing information readily available;
it is best to contact the company. Subscription options vary, but are flat
rate. Customers can buy a single-user password, a single password for an
entire organization, or access via IP address recognition. Subscriptions can
be made on a one-year or two-year basis. Free trials are available. Customer
service can be accessed through the telephone or online support forms.

Technical Information

The Bloomberg BNA Web Reference Libraries are compatible
on Windows and Mac operating systems. It is recommended to use the Mac version
of the Mozilla Firefox or Netscape Navigator software as the Internet browser.
However, the Interactive Forms software included with a few if the BNA Web
reference libraries is only compatible with Windows operating systems.
Additionally, Bloomberg BNA Technical Support provides assistance to electronic
subscribers. Technical Specialists are available to assist customers in the
installation, configuration, and use of BNA’s electronic publications on the
web, on CD, and delivered by e-mail.

CCH is owned by Wolters Kluwer. Its primary focus is
tax research, though it has databases in antitrust, banking, construction law,
corporate governance, energy, intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions,
products liability, securities, and transportation law, and in other subject
areas. Its customers include large tax and accounting firms, large law firms,
smaller law firms with tax practices, and law schools.

On the IntelliConnect homepage, users can search, view and
browse content. By default, users search all content in the subscription or in
particular practice areas. Each result can be viewed in a list or categorized
by document type. Filters allow users to sort their results in order to find
documents of interest. The filters include document type, practice tools,
library, court, state tax type, and jurisdiction. Multiple filters can be used
together to refine search results.

Users can link to related documents, save and email
documents, view documents in a split-screen with their search results, or run
multiple searches simultaneously. Search results can be viewed as the top
three results listed in each category. Additionally, the easy-to-use browse
tree enables users to easily find documents. Moreover, Tracker News is an
automatic daily search for important news articles of interests. These
articles can be emailed to the user. Finally, research folders allow users to
save and store documents for future use.

How its Databases are Organized

The databases are listed alphabetically. CCH uses a
combination of tabs and lists with checkboxes to organize its database
offerings. Organization depends on which databases are in the subscription.
The scope notes provide detailed information about each publication in a
database.

Pricing

All internet products are offered on an annual
subscription basis only. Pricing varies depending upon the number of passwords
purchased and the number of users that are allowed to access the service at the
same time.

Technical Information

CCH specifies Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. It
recommends a 56 Kb or higher speed internet connection, and Internet Explorer
version 5.5 or later, or Netscape version 6.2 or later.

C. RIA (Research
Institute of America)

RIA is owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation. RIA
Checkpoint is a web-based tax research service that includes a wide range of
materials on federal and state tax law. Its customers include large tax and
accounting firms, large law firms, smaller law firms with tax practices, and
law schools.

RIA Checkpoint combines primary and secondary sources so
that a researcher can examine a primary source, such as a section of the U.S.
tax code, and jump quickly to commentary on the source. Its service includes
access to most of the administrative documents needed by tax researchers. This
administrative material is available on LexisNexis and Westlaw, but not on
Loislaw or VersusLaw.

How its Databases are Organized

RIA Checkpoint’s databases are broken into several
divisions. The federal tax product, for example, is divided into Editorial
Materials, News/Current Awareness, Primary Source Materials, Legislation (Editorial
Analysis and Source Material), and archival material. The researcher can,
however, search all sources at once. Generally, researchers will need training
on how to choose the best database for efficient searching.

Pricing

Potential customers should contact a sales representative for
pricing information. Contact information is available here. Subscription prices vary
depending on the individual databases chosen. Free trials are available here.

Technical information

RIA Checkpoint has the following system requirements: A
high-speed internet connection, Microsoft Internet Explorer® (latest version)
or Mozilla® Firefox (latest version), Adobe Acrobat® Reader (latest version). RIA
Checkpoint provides telephone support for US customers, but does not offer
toll-free support for overseas customers. Email support is available.

[[1]]
“Public Records” include a wide variety of documents filed by companies or
individuals with the state, or filed by the state regarding companies or
individuals. Examples include records of incorporation, records of property
ownership, and records of professional licensing.

[[2]]
“Filings” can sometimes overlap with
“Public Records.” It includes court docket information (i.e., records of
lawsuits filed in court).

[[3]]
This category includes directories of
attorneys, legal dictionaries, and dictionaries of legal citation.

[[4]] “Jury
Instructions” are a set of explanations and instructions that a judge reads to
jurors before they begin their deliberations. Their content varies depending
on the jurisdiction.

[[5]]
“Verdicts” databases provide information
on the monetary amount awarded in previous jury trials. Attorneys use them as
one way to evaluate the possible recovery or liability for a client.

[[6]]
A “CLE” is a Continuing Legal
Education publication. These publications are prepared as part of educational
programs for attorneys. Most states require attorneys to attend a certain
number of hours of Continuing Legal Education programs.

[[7]]
“Practice Guides” are written for
practicing attorneys, and may include legal forms, tips, and checklists in addition
to explanations of relevant law, with citations to primary legal sources such
as cases and statutes.

Hauser Global Law School Program, New York University School
of Law
40 Washington Square South, New York, New York 10012-1099
Telephone: (212) 998-6691, Facsimile: (212) 995-